This invention relates to a method of dispensing unit doses of medications and associated products and more particularly to providing a card including a blister pack having a plurality of medication receiving recesses, each of the recesses containing a unit dose of medication, the recesses being arranged in a plurality of separable rows and a carrier into which the separated rows may be placed.
Advances in medical science and pharmacology have lead to a proliferation of prescription drugs that are taken by many persons. Often, some persons may take several different types of prescription drugs in the same day. These prescription drugs may be taken once, twice, or more times daily.
One major problem that has arisen is patient compliance with the dosing schedule of the various prescription drugs that are needed by that patient. For example, one patient may require four different prescriptions, to be taken anywhere from once to four times daily. As can be appreciated, this requires careful monitoring because missing a dose or "doubling-up" on a dose can have major negative health effects on a patient. The problem is multiplied in a hospital or nursing home situation when there are many patients, most of whom require sometimes many prescriptions at varying times of the day. Thus, what is needed is a system that increases patient compliance, reduces administration errors and accurately tracks scheduled dosages.
Finally, with the current emphasis on delivering quality health care at a reasonable cost, there is needed an efficient system that allows for increased inventory control as well as more efficient patient billing. A system is needed, therefore, that is easy to use by the patient but which also provides pharmacists and administrators an efficient and accurate method to dispense and bill for the prescription drugs.